NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new Kaplan Bar Review survey of 1,000 law school graduates from the
class of 2016 finds a nearly unanimous judgment: 91 percent want every
state to adopt the Uniform Bar Examination to license new attorneys.*
This percentage represents a significant jump from when Kaplan first
surveyed law school graduates on this issue in 2013, when 80 percent
supported UBE adoption across the country. Kaplan’s findings come as
three additional states -- Illinois, Maine, and North Carolina --
consider joining the 26 other jurisdictions that have adopted the UBE.

When asked why they support the adoption of the UBE, which is
essentially a national licensing exam for would be practicing attorneys
to practice law across multiple states without having to take multiple
state-specific bar exams, 89% say because it provides more job
portability; 38 percent say because the exam is easier to study for; but
just 16 percent say because the exam’s content is easier.

“While the job market for new attorneys has
improved significantly in recent years, it remains tight, and law
school graduates recognize that the UBE offers greater portability and
flexibility in terms of career opportunities. The UBE is not necessarily
an easier exam than state-specific bar exams, but it may make the job
search a bit easier,” said Tammi Rice, vice president and general
manager, Kaplan Bar Review. “It’s important to note, however, that
although more than 90 percent of recent graduates prefer universal
adoption the UBE, half of the U.S. jurisdictions still don’t use this,
including four of the five biggest states: California, Texas, Florida
and Illinois. This may change, but given unique issues that states face,
we believe many will hold onto their state-specific bar exams.”

Rice points out that adopting the Uniform Bar Examination has led to a
boost in the overall exam passage rate for some states, but not others.
Since adopting the UBE, the
passage rate in both New York and DC jumped. In New
Mexico however, the bar passage rate dropped. “There are a lot of
variables for why a state’s bar passage rate may rise or fall after the
UBE is adopted. In some states, the UBE is actually harder than the
state-specific bar exam was, but in some states it’s not as challenging.
Law schools realize how important it is for their students to pass and
many have made it a priority to make sure their students get the
preparation they need to succeed, as many aspiring law students look at
this statistic when deciding where to enroll. A school’s bar passage
rate also weighs heavily into the rankings.”

The 26 U.S. jurisdictions that have adopted the UBE are Alabama, Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Idaho, Iowa,
Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, South
Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

To schedule an interview with a legal education expert at Kaplan, please
contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com
or 212.453.7538.

*Kaplan Bar Review conducted the survey via email in August 2016. It
includes responses from 1,000 law school graduates from the class of
2016.